


Grimm Meetings in Vale

by brokenmimir



Series: White Rose Week 2018 [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, City Fantasy, F/F, White Rose Week 2018, sword and sorcery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 10:02:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14932140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenmimir/pseuds/brokenmimir
Summary: White Rose Week Day Five: Fantasy AUAn uncultured barbarian warrior far from her home in the wilderness.  A lonely duelist from the depraved and decadent metropolis.  Will they find the barbarian's missing sister?  Will they cure the crippling ennui slowly drowning the duelist?  Or will they both be dragged down by a vicious cult of Grimm worshipping assassins?





	Grimm Meetings in Vale

Ruby's entire face scrunched up in disgust at the building in front of her. She had been expected something bad from the rumors she'd been following, and the filthy, rundown neighborhood had managed to lower her expectations even more. That still didn't mean that she was ready for the sight before her.

“Damn it, Yang, what are you mixed up in?” she muttered, biting her lip. She reached back and touched the scythe on her back, the blade folded down against the wood so that it resembled a staff more than anything else, and satisfied that she was armed she gathered her nerve and walked inside.

Junior's wasn't just some dive bar near the docks. She knew Yang was fond of parties, bars and alcohol, so while she disapproved she wouldn't have been surprised. For Yang to have visited a… a… well, a place like _this_ on the other hand… she didn't even want to think about what their father would say about her following her sister into it.

The inside was in some ways better, and in most ways worse than the outside. Sure, the room almost looked clean-ish, although she suspected that was mostly caused by the dimly lit chandeliers providing the only lighting and the dark red and black color scheme. It also didn't smell _quite_ as bad as the streets, which were never cleaned and lacked properly functional sewage, leading to most people simply dumping their night soil into the gutters that ran along the alleys, which then flowed downhill to reeking, open air cesspits, barring the occasional blockage, like bloated rats, fallen roofing tiles, and dead or drunken bodies.

Of course, Junior's didn't exactly smell _good_ either. All around the room braziers were burning incense, the overpower stench failing to completely cover up the overpowering body odor and other, harder to place but no doubt nasty smells. The floorboards were painted black, and every step squeaked as her leather boots stuck onto… whatever was sticky on the floor. Ruby refused to examine it closer.

She skirted around the piles of stained cushions and low padded chairs, keeping her eyes averted from the dancing girls and drunken patrons, some of whom were doing… things without even bothering to go to the curtained alcoves or purchasing a room. She _really_ wished she had wax in her ears to block out some of the sounds she was hearing, and yet part of her kept stealing glances out of the corner of her eye. No matter what she told herself, part of her _was_ curious about the debauchery going on around her. They certainly didn't have anything like this in her tiny farming village of Patch.

When she reached the bar she hesitated, not sure she wanted to sit down on the rickety, and no doubt stained wooden stool, but after taking a deep breath (which she regretted, as the nearby incense burner made her sneeze) she climbed up and waited for the bartender to approach, nervously adjusted the hood of her red cloak while she did.

“Looking to buy or sell?” the tall, muscular man behind the bar asked, his voice a deep rumble.

“Huh?” Ruby asked, looking at him in confusion.

He gave her what he probably thought was a pleasant smile. “This is a place of entertainment, girl. You looking for a good time, or you looking for a job?”

“Wh-what?!”

He shrugged. “You look pretty enough, from what I can see with that hood up. If you don't meet our standards I know some other places a bit less discerning.”

“Standards?” Ruby repeated, looking around the room. Most of the women were quite attractive, if one ignored why they were in a place like this.

“Of course,” he said with a chuckle. “We might not be in the Old City, but we get a few nobs coming down here to slum with the working class, and there aren't many establishments that can say the same. It means we've got the prettiest girls in this half of Vale.”

Ruby shook her head vigorously. “No way! I'm- I'm not looking for either thing!”

“Are you sure?” he asked with a smirk. “The name's Junior, by the way. If you've got coin I can guarantee you'll find somebody that will fit your interests. We don't judge, and as long as you aren't hurting my girls we'll accommodate you.”

“I'm looking for someone,” Ruby said, clearing her throat and trying to sound tough. After a moment her eyes widened comically and she shook her head again. “N-not like that, though! I'm looking for a person! To talk to them! About my sister.”

“I hope you aren't getting any ideas about causing trouble,” he said. “Everyone here comes to me looking for work, and they're all paid well and well taken care of. So if your sister's here, it's her choice.”

“No, not like that,” Ruby said. “My sister came here looking for something, and I'm trying to find her. You know, follow her trail?”

Junior frowned. “What was she looking for?”

“I dunno,” Ruby said, slumping. “People said she was looking for someone called Neo.”

Junior rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I might know a Neo.”

“Really?” Ruby asked excitedly.

“Maybe,” Junior said with a shrug. “I'm having trouble remembering though.”

“Maybe I can jog your memory!” Ruby said.

“Maybe something would help,” he said, holding out a hand.

Ruby looked at it in confusion, cocking her head as she wasn't sure why he was doing that. “Um… I heard she has hair and eyes that are a bunch of different colors.”

“That does sound familiar,” Junior agreed, rubbing his thumb against his fingers, then holding the hand out straight again. When Ruby just kept staring at him in confusion Junior sighed. “I'm looking for money, kid.”

“Huh?”

“Money,” Junior said. “I sideline as an information broker. If you want me to tell you, then you've got to pay me.”

“Oh,” Ruby said, grabbing the leather purse from her belt. “Why didn't you say something?”

Junior sighed, shaking his head as Ruby gave him several silver coins, he tossed them in his palm for a moment, and then nodded. “Neo rented a room upstairs tonight, but didn't pay for any girls. She's probably holding a meeting of some kind; some criminals like to rent rooms here since people aren't likely to pay attention to what they get up to.”

“Oh,” Ruby said. “Which room?”

“Third on the right,” Junior said. “Be careful… Neo's dangerous. And don't cause a ruckus.”

Ruby hopped off the stool and gave him a feral grin. “That's okay… I'm dangerous, too.”

She walked quickly around the edge of the room and up the stairs, breathing a sigh of relief to be away from the den of iniquity below. She had always been told that the people of Vale were corrupt and weak, but she'd never fully believed the stories until she'd arrived in the city three days ago. Everywhere she went was crime, poverty, and cruelty, and no one cared. The city dwellers seemed to fill their time with drink, drugs, and lewd behavior instead of hard work. She doubted that anyone, even the city guard, would be able to put a fight if they ran into monsters like the Grimm that people in the wilderness had to put up with everyday just to survive.

Unfortunately the upstairs wasn't really any better than below. The walls and doors were thick enough to block most of the sound, but the people inside apparently didn't care about being discrete. She blushed and increased her pace, ready to give her sister a piece of her mind when she finally found her.

She didn't even hesitate when she reached the third doors, slamming the one on the left open as she stepped into the room, pulling her red bladed scythe from her back and flicking it sharply to deploy its cutting edge. She wasn't going to take any chances forcing Neo to talk, even if she had to get rough.

Despite her plan to burst in and take charge of the situation, she found her jaw dropping at what she found inside of the room. Like the rest of the building everything was dark red and black in color, with a large bed dominating the small room. Sitting on the bed were three women in a considerable state of undress, all of whom had apparently been involved in certain activities before she'd entered.

The two women on the ends were similar to what she'd seen downstairs. They were fairly pretty, but not remarkably so, with heavily made up faces and scraps of clothing designed to entice payment rather than conceal their bodies. Both immediately began screaming at her entrance, scrambling away from the woman in the middle in their panic.

That woman looked like no one Ruby had ever seen before. She was thin, with pale, soft skin showing a kind of care and pampering that Ruby, and even the city women in the building, could never afford or imagine. She was without flaw or blemish, apart from a single large scar over one eye, and while she didn't have as womanly a figure as Yang, she was probably the most beautiful person that Ruby had ever seen.

She was also wearing nothing but tiny, white lace and silk undergarments, which covered only the barest amount of her body. Her beautiful white hair was up in an off center ponytail, held in place by a delicate jeweled tiara likely worth more gold than Ruby's entire village. Her eyes, a pale blue, burned with anger as she sprang lithely to her feet, scooping up a sword, its blade obviously too thin and light to be of any real use in battle.

Ruby forced herself to stop being distracted by the beautiful woman. Despite her embarrassing reaction and the deep blush still staining her cheeks the color of her cloak, the woman was everything that Ruby loathed. She was pale from never seeing the sun, lacked callouses from doing real work, wore wasteful jewelry to show off her unearned wealth, wielded a fake weapon to try to pretend to be a warrior, and even cavorted with multiple people of dubious morals. In short, she was a decadent, effete noble slumming among criminals, and Ruby did her best to convince herself that she wasn't worth remembering.

“I don't know why you burst into my room armed with an oversized gardening tool, but you've scared my companions for the evening, and ruined my fun,” the woman drawled.

“Too bad, princess,” Ruby said, drawing herself up. “I'm not leaving until you tell me where my sister is.”

The woman snorted. “If I tried to keep track of everyone's sister, wife or mother who'd shared my bed I wouldn't have time for anything else. Although… I think I'd remember someone as cute as you, little red. Why don't you leave the grass cutter outside and we can… discuss things for a bit, just the four of us.”

Ruby growled, the sound disappointingly unthreatening. She'd need to work on that. “No way! Stop making fun of Crescent Rose! She's a combat scythe, not a farm tool! And- and there's no way I'd get involved in your- your perversions!”

Ruby hadn't been as on guard as she should have been. She'd assumed that the woman would be slow and weak, a thought that she was instantly disabused of when the woman lunged, the thin sword extended fully and aimed straight for her heart. Only Ruby's incredible speed and reflexes, long honed fighting Grimm in the forest, kept her alive, and she had to throw herself hard against the opposite doorway to even do that.

The woman recovered smoothly and thrust again, but this time Ruby was more prepared. She managed to bring her weapon around in a block, but instead of letting her press their weapons and contest their strengths the other woman retracted her blade and thrust again, the fast flick of the sword forcing Ruby to give ground again.

Ruby quickly gained a grudging respect for the beautiful woman. Her weapon was a real weapon after all, and she was gaining the small nicks and scratches from barely avoided serious injuries to prove it. It was just _so fast_ , and the reach was much longer than she would've expected. Despite being constrained to a style that heavily valued thrusts over the more powerful slashes and chops Ruby was used to seeing from her village's swordsmen, the range of subtle variations the weapon offered seemed limitless.

Even worse, Ruby found the narrow hallway to be the worst environment she'd ever tried to fight in. She was sure that out in the open, or even in a dense forest, she could have overwhelmed the white haired woman. Her linear style seemed ill suited to organic terrain, and she would probably break her sword on the first rock she accidentally hit. On the other hand, Ruby would be able to actually move around and swing her scythe, instead being constrained to the glorified pokes and meager stabs she had to use to avoid hitting the walls.

As annoying as it was, she was eventually forced to admit that she couldn't win in that hall, but that didn't mean she was going to give up. She simply had to change things in her favor, and the best way to do that was to reach open ground. She stopped fighting back so much, retreating steadily and only offering enough battle to keep the other woman from realizing her plan.

It wasn't easy though. She wanted more than anything to wipe the smug, arrogant smirk off of the woman's beautiful… er, meany face. She moved slowly and languidly, her every step dripping with arrogant amusement, like the Ruby was nothing but a child's toy for her diversion, the violence merely a game before she returned to her companions for the evening.

Finally she reached the stairs, and Ruby hopped down them, retreating quickly and then jumping up onto a table, kicking over several steins of beer in the process. People began to scream and flee the building, but she didn't take her eyes away from the woman strolling down the stairs like she owned them, unashamed in her near nudity, even with a crowd of men and women fleeing the room.

“Aren't you going to keep running, little red?” the woman drawled.

“My name is Ruby,” she said. “And I'm not running. I was just… advancing in reverse. Strategically.”

“Strategically advancing in reverse,” the woman said faux thoughtfully. “That sounds a lot like retreating to me.”

“Well… well it's not,” Ruby said, before jumping forward and swinging her scythe in wide, spinning pattern sure to defeat the soft city dweller.

Or not, as the woman flowed through the attack and slashed at her throat, forcing Ruby to adapt. She was good at that though, and Ruby was satisfied to see her opponent's eyes widen as she narrowly avoiding being cut in two by a deceptive twirl of the scythe.

Back and forth they clashed, swirling about the room as they struggled to beat each other. The open space evened the odds, but to her surprise Ruby found herself unable to come out on top. The woman actually made better use of the furniture than she did, easily maneuvering over and around tables, skipping and hopping through the maze that kept tripping Ruby up, even swinging from a chandelier at one point to reposition herself when Ruby was sure she finally had her cornered.

Still, Ruby hadn't mastered the battle scythe under her uncle's tutelage for nothing, and as experienced as the other woman obviously was at fighting in cramped city buildings, Ruby slowly found herself figuring out her opponent. The woman, on the other hand, was grinning, obviously enjoying herself, and Ruby was shocked to realize that she was, too. She'd never been pushed so hard by anyone since she'd finished training, and she wasn't about to lose to some rich big city woman of dubious character.

Ruby set up a pattern of attacks, twisting, swirling moves that she knew her opponent would seek to take advantage of. The pattern drifted, the complexity too much for most people to spot the flaw, but sure enough the woman did, thrusting to exploit the gap. Her eyes widened at the last second when she realized the trap and she dove for safety, but it was already too late.

The woman shouted in pain as she rolled to her feet, a snarl on her face and blood running down her right arm from a deep cut. It was only after they squared off again the Ruby realized she'd made an opening on her opponent's off hand side instead of crippling her sword arm. Still, it was a serious cut, and she knew it would weaken the woman.

“You're better than I expected,” the woman said, her voice grudging.

Ruby grinned. “Right back at you. Now, if you don't want more of that then tell me what I want to know!”

The woman gave her a lascivious grin before tossing her pony tail back over her shoulder. “And what if I want more?”

“Wh-what?” Ruby gaped. “No, I don't- I don't even want to know! Just tell me where my sister is, Neo!”

“Neo?” the woman sneered. “Do I look like I have three hair colors? I don't even have _any_ hair color!”

“O-oh, right,” Ruby said. “Uh… Neo was supposed to be in your room. Third door on the right.”

“Are you completely braindead!?” the woman shrieked. “I was in the third door on the left!”

“O-oh,” Ruby said, stepping back and rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. “Sorry.”

“Sorry?! _Sorry?!_ ”

“I, um, I didn't mean to?”

The woman scoffed, before her eyes narrowed. “Wait, why was Neo renting the room across from me?”

“I dunno,” Ruby said.

The woman turned and faced the stairs, where a strange woman with pink, white and brown hair holding a parasol stood, a wicked grin on her face. Upon being noticed her grin widened and she pulled out a long, thin hidden blade from the handle of the frilly parasol.

“Uh… I just want to know where my sister is,” Ruby said. “Her name's Yang?”

“She's a mute,” the white haired woman said. “A mute assassin.”

“Oh.”

“And there's a contract on my head,” the woman sighed.

“Uh… well, that's, um, I guess that's why she rented that room, huh.”

“You think?!” she snapped.

“Hey, I guess I saved your life,” Ruby said. “If I hadn't, uh, barged in and fought you she probably would've killed you while you were, uh, you know…”

“Enjoying my evening?”

Ruby blushed again. “Right.”

“Ladies,” the man she'd paid for information spoke, making them both half turn. He was holding a huge, metal wrapped club, and with him were two women, one all in white and the other in red. Despite being dressed like the other women who worked their they were both armed and in combat stances. “You've caused me a lot of trouble.”

“Great,” Ruby said. “Uh… what was your name again?”

“Weiss Schnee.”

“I'm Ruby Rose! Wanna, um, work together?”

Weiss sighed. “Fine… but when this is over we're going to have a very long talk about this.”

“Sure,” Ruby said, moving back to back with the other woman. “Let's just kick their butts first.”

“Let's.”

 

* * *

 

Weiss wasn't sure what to make of the strange girl who had ruined her evening. Her experience with barbarians had been that they were brutish louts with no concern for social mores, no subtly, and no appreciation for the finer things in life. Most of that seemed to be true about the girl standing back to back with her, but despite that she was not at all what she had expected.

To begin with she was… cute. Like a puppy dog, except a puppy dog certainly didn't cause the same reaction Ruby did. She had striking silver eyes, smooth skin for someone unlikely to have been exposed to heated water in her life, and her hair, while slightly wild, was well groomed and suited her strangely well. She was perhaps slightly taller than Weiss, although her heeled riding boots would fix that when she retrieved them, but with a surprisingly thin, lithe build for someone swinging around a giant hunk of metal with so much speed and grace.

When their opponents attacked she casually went on the offensive, probing at Neo's defenses while using her ears to keep track of the rest of the fighting. Neo was highly skilled, good enough to kill her if she was caught by surprise, but she was one of the finest duelists in the city, and no matter how capable the assassin was she was sure that she could take her. The only real question was how Ruby was fairing.

Weiss suddenly exploded into motion, pressing Neo with every bit of her speed, moving faster than she had against Ruby all the way until she end. If she had moved like this against the barbarian girl in the hallway she probably would've gutted her, the small scratches she'd managed to inflict proof that her former and perhaps future enemy lacked experience with fencing styles. Still, she'd ended up enjoying the fight too much, even with her new bleeding gash, to regret toying with her.

Neo, on the other hand, _was_ used to fighting people armed with rapiers, and she moved as smoothly as water, flowing around the thrusts in the beginning, although she was soon forced to use both her hidden sword and the parasol to try to keep up, her expression dropping from cruel anticipation to concern.

As they began to approach the wall Weiss smirked and changed tactics, slashing hard against the parasol. Rapiers weren't designed to be used for such crude chopping, but Myrtenaster wasn't simply some noble's fancy dueling blade. She enjoyed Neo's obvious shock as she easily cut the parasol in half, before moving into an elaborate disarm with a flourish. The hidden blade went flying and then she held the triple hair colored girl at sword point.

Neo raised her hands in surrender, and Weiss glanced back, checking on how Ruby was doing. It was, to be honest, quite impressive. Her scythe moved so quickly it almost blurred, and if she wasn't having so much trouble dealing with the chairs and other accoutrements of the entertainment house she probably would've won much more easily. As it was Junior was down, clubbed over the head with the haft of the scythe after she'd apparently chopped his weapon in half, and she was easily holding the twin enforcers at bay.

Weiss' eyes narrowed. She was having perhaps a little _too_ easy of a time. “Stop playing around and just finish this.”

Ruby nodded before rushing at one of the twins, swinging her scythe downwards at an angle. Her opponent, the one with knives, backed up, but wasn't prepared for Ruby to continue her motion, swinging her own body around and using the ground embedded scythe like a lever to gain momentum before slamming both feet into the woman's stomach, sending her flying back into unconsciousness.

Unfortunately that move left her open, and the other twin leapt through the air herself, her bladed boots flying right towards her back. Weiss was just about to shout a warning when Ruby ducked, ripping her scythe from the ground and somehow batting the remaining enemy out the air with a painful sounding thump as she flew by. She didn't get up again.

“You caught her?” Ruby asked.

Weiss sniffed. “Of course. Not that I'm sure it will do us much good… she's mute, after all.”

“Oh, right,” Ruby said with a frown. “Uh… hey! Have you seen my sister? She was supposed to be looking for you.”

Neo shrugged, her eyes darting around as she tried to think of an escape plan. Weiss grinned a little sadistically and pressed her blade even closer, slightly scratching the skin of her neck but not quite drawing blood. “Were you sent to kill me?”

Neo carefully nodded at that. “By who?”

She pointed at Weiss, or more specifically her hair. Weiss frowned in thought for a moment before scoffing. “My witless brother?”

Neo nodded, and Weiss pulled her sword back. “Of course. Are you planning on trying again?”

Neo shook her head. “Fine. I'll let you go… if you help out the barbarian girl.”

“You're just gonna let her go?” Ruby asked.

“Of course,” Weiss said with a sniff.

“But she just tried to kill you!”

“If I killed everyone who tried to kill me this city would soon be running short of people,” Weiss said. “Granted, most of them are idiots, but someone like Neo is useful. She'll be sure to remember how reasonable I was, and that could prove valuable someday. That's how the world works.”

Ruby frowned, obviously not very fond of that idea. “Couldn't people just be honest and be nice to each other?”

Weiss laughed at that, at first pleased that the barbarian girl had a sense of humor, although that died when she saw her annoyed expression. “Oh… you were being serious. Look, just see if you can figure out what your sister was doing with one of the more notable assassins in the city, or let her go. I don't really care that much either way.”

Ruby puffed her cheeks out for a moment, before grumbling under her breath and turning to face Neo. “My sister's name is Yang Xiao Long. She's tall with big, um, you know….” Ruby made an exaggerated cupping motion over her chest. Or Weiss assumed it was exaggerated. While big, beefy barbarian women weren't her type she might make an exception for someone that gifted.

“Oh, she's got blonde hair, really long and wild,” Ruby continued. “Uh… she gets _really_ mad if someone touches it…”

Neo perked up at that and nodded. She frowned, and then pointed at Weiss' hair again, before pointing at her teeth. Ruby cast Weiss a desperate look, obviously not having a clue what Neo meant, although Weiss had a good idea. “Something about the White Fang.”

Neo nodded, then gestured at the door. Weiss nodded, before turning and walking over to the bar, easily hopping over it and looking at the nicer liquor from the top shelf. “What are you doing?” Ruby asked.

“Well, _someone_ cut my arm with an oversized gardening tool, and I'd rather not contract some kind of disease,” Weiss said.

“Huh?”

Weiss eyed the barbarian like she was a total idiot. “Open wound? Filthy den devoted to dubious activities in one of the filthiest parts of town?”

“Oh, right,” Ruby said sheepishly, looking down at the various scratches she'd gotten in their earlier duel.

Weiss found a nicely palatable whiskey and took a long swig, before seaching for the cleanest towel she could find behind the bar to use as a bandage. It was still white, but she really hoped that the alcohol was as good at burning out disease as it was at burning her throat, because she doubted Junior actually knew how to keep anything clean. She wrinkled her nose at the state of the floors she'd been walking on bare foot, the stickiness not something she'd wanted between her toes that morning.

Once she'd cleaned her arm, she looked at the barbarian. “Take your cloak off.”

“What?” Ruby asked.

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Unless you want me to just drown you in whiskey and hope it reaches those cuts, come over here and take off that cloak.”

Ruby hesitated, before finally removing it, revealing a quite enticing body. She was wearing a black dress with black leggings, and a red corset that made Weiss' mouth water. She had obviously been underestimating the appeal of barbarian women.

Unfortunately Ruby squirmed like a scalded cat and whined the entire time Weiss treated her cuts, but she persevered, even if she couldn't decide if it was more frustrating or cute. “Alright, so what are you going to do next?”

“Uh… look for white fangs?” Ruby offered.

“Do you know what the White Fang are?” Weiss asked, crossing her arms.

“Uh… clean teeth?”

“No,” Weiss said. “They're one of the major thieves' guilds in Vale.”

“Thieves'… guild?” Ruby repeated.

“Of course, everyone has a guild in this city,” Weiss sniffed. “The thieves' guilds aren't _legal_ of course, but that doesn't stop them from being powerful. If you plan on storming in with that scythe swinging you aren't going to get anywhere.”

“Well… what am I supposed to do, then?” Ruby asked. “I'm not going to abandon my sister!”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Fortunately for you, I happen to have had a few encounters with the White Fang before. Not all of them were good, but I know a few who owe me some favors.”

“Well… I guess there is an advantage to this favor thing,” Ruby grunted. “But… why are you helping me? I just tried to kill you.”

“True… and as I see it, you already owe me at least one favor for that,” Weiss said, leaning over the counter. She noticed the way Ruby's eyes' briefly darted to her admittedly modest cleavage and smirked. “I suppose you can find _some_ way of making things up to me.”

“Okay,” Ruby said, smiling happily. It was obvious the heavy handed innuendo had gone right over her head, but what could she expect from a barbarian? Still, there were some advantages to that level of innocence. She could break her in just the way she wanted, and if she played her cards right she'd have the cute little death machine eating right out of her hand… and other places. That was certainly better than the forgettable evening she'd had planned.

“Now, I'm getting dressed… try not to pick any more pointless fights for five minutes, will you?”

“What's a minute?”

Weiss scoffed but didn't answer, instead doing her best to swing her hips enticingly as she strolled across the room and up the stairs. A quick glance showed that Ruby was staring, and she smiled wider. Oh yes, her evening wasn't going to be wasted at all if she had anything to say about it.

 

* * *

 

Ruby did her best to keep from thinking about Weiss' body while she waited. She'd seen naked women before, but something about Weiss wearing so little made her heart pound far more swiftly. She wasn't completely innocent, having realized that her interests lay in the direction of other women when she was young, although she'd never had the heart to tell her father. He probably wouldn't be upset, but her village frowned on that kind of thing, although it was starting to look like the city didn't, since no one had batted an eye at her and Weiss being customers of the business they were in.

When Weiss returned Ruby was shocked to find that she was somehow almost more lovely fully dressed. She had a beautifully tailored short white dress on, with a red lined half jacket over it and tall white boots with high heels. She strutted over to the door and waited, raising a challenging eyebrow at Ruby who had been staring at her for far too long.

With a blush Ruby ran over, and soon the two stepped back out onto the streets. Weiss cast a glance back at Junior's and sighed. “Well, I'm going to need to make things up to the Seamstress' guild.”

“Why?” Ruby asked. “I didn't mess up your clothes any.”

Weiss smirked. “The Clothesmaker's Guild controls that. The Seamstress' guild is what Junior's people pay dues to.”

“Why's it called that then?”

Weiss sniffed, and then wrinkled her nose in obvious regret at doing so as they strolled right next to the open sewage. “It would be impolite to talk about such things so baldly in public.”

“But… there's places like this everywhere in the city…”

“No, there are entertainment houses full of seamstresses,” Weiss said, shaking her head.

“But that's just a lie,” Ruby said.

“It's a bit of polite fiction,” Weiss said. “Politeness and decorum are full of such things.”

Ruby squinted at her companion doubtfully. “That still sounds like lying.”

Weiss shrugged. “Perhaps, but if you intend on blending in here in the city you'll need to learn to put on a polite face and to follow our customs.”

“I don't see why,” Ruby pouted.

Weiss smirked. “Would a normal city dweller survive long if they refused to learn the ways of the wilderness?”

Ruby snorted. “They'd get eaten by a Grimm in about five minutes out there.”

“Well, in here you might not get eaten, but you will get a knife in your back,” Weiss said. “Think of it as survival training for a new kind of terrain.”

Ruby wasn't sure what to make of that, and she really wasn't sure what to make of Weiss. She was everything she'd been taught to look down upon, and she'd attacked her because of her own mistake. Despite that she couldn't help but like the woman, and not just because of how pretty she was. Something about her was magnetic, and Ruby found herself being drawn in.

“So… what are we looking for?” Ruby asked. “What's this thieves' guild like?”

Weiss gestured vaguely. “For the most part thieves' guilds are nothing but petty criminals held together by chance alliance and the fear of those stronger than them at the top of the pecking order. The White Fang are worst than most, because they're all faunus.”

“What's wrong with faunus?” Ruby asked.

Weiss shrugged. “Nothing inherently. An all human guild would be just as bad, in fact. If they only accept one race, that probably means that the leadership has something against everyone else, and the people who join probably feel the same way.”

“So… you said you know some of them?” Ruby asked.

“Yes,” Weiss agreed. “I've crossed swords with one of their enforcers, but I've also helped out one of their better burglars on a job once. She should be willing to help us.”

“Okay,” Ruby said, filing away Weiss helping out with crimes to ask about some other day, when her sister wasn't in trouble.

“Why are we looking for your sister?”

“She went missing,” Ruby said.

Weiss rolled her eyes. “But what was she doing in the city in the first place?”

“Oh… I'm not sure,” Ruby said. “She was looking for her mom, and I think she got a lead in Vale. I would've gone after her, but I was hunting down a pack of Beowolves that were killing shepherds.”

“A _pack_ of _Beowolves_?” Weiss repeated.

“Yeah,” Ruby said. “They weren't too tough if you fight 'em smart. I mean, it took a while to thin out the numbers before I could finish them off, but it was no big deal. By the time I got back though Yang had been gone for days.”

“Hmm,” Weiss hummed. “I'm not sure how a human assassin and the White Fang got involved with a barbarian looking for her mother, but I suppose we'll find out.”

It was already late, but it was well after midnight by the time they reached Menagerie, the faunus district. It was obviously poorer than even the crime infested area Junior's was in, but at the same time many of the buildings were in better condition, and the sewage, while still open like in about half of the city, was at least well maintained so that it didn't overflow.

“This is the faunus area?” Ruby asked.

“Yes,” Weiss said warily, her eyes darting about. “According to the watch it has the highest crime rate in the city, but that's because they only really bother to track humans who pay enough taxes to cover their salary, and most people who fit that description get robbed if they set foot in here. Most faunus just live here and try to make a living as best they can. There's a lot of anger though, so it's very unsafe for unprepared humans to pass through the district.”

“That's right,” a voice called, stepping out into the street. “Especially not for a rich nob like you.”

Ruby sized him up. He was thin, with a vicious, dangerous looking face and a long bladed knife in his hand. “Is he one of the White Fang?”

Weiss snorted. “No. He's just some petty street thug who isn't smart enough to know when he's outmatched-”

“I'm not the one who's outnumbered,” he said darkly as several more faunus stepped out of the surrounding alleys.

“You didn't let me finish,” Weiss said, clicking her tongue. “He's a petty street thug who isn't smart enough to know when he's outmatched… and he has seven friends even dumber than he is.”

As the eight criminals started to move in Ruby extending her scythe's blade again while Weiss placed a hand on her sword's hit. Before any violence could break out, however, a voice interrupted them. “Wait.”

Another figure appeared, this one dropping down from the roof of a nearby shop, landing smoothly and standing to her full height with inhuman grace. She was dressed entirely in shades of gray and black, all designed to hide her in the dark evening streets. The sole exception was a white mask covering her face, the design obviously copied from the appearance of Grimm.

Weiss tensed for a second, and then relaxed, crossing her arms as the newcomer strolling past the street toughs like they weren't even there. “Weiss Schnee. You've got a lot of nerve coming to Menagerie after what you pulled last time.”

Weiss smirked. “I go where I please.”

The masked woman scoffed, but before she could say anything else the leader of the thugs intruded. “They're mine. I'm going to cut out her tongue and put her head on a pike.”

“Don't be foolish,” the masked woman said. “Leave. Now.”

“You're siding with _her_?” he demanded incredulously. “A Schnee over faunus?”

The woman turned and faced him, making him flinch before she even said a word. “I'm saving all of your lives, you idiots. Now leave or I'll let her cut you to pieces.”

The leader tried to look tough, but after a moment he scoffed and turned around. “Fine. We've got better things to do anyway.”

Once they were gone the woman faced them again. “Follow me.”

Ruby leaned over and whispered loudly to her companion. “Who is she?”

“She's the person I was hoping to run into,” Weiss said. “And there's no point in whispering; those cat ears aren't just for show.”

Ruby blinked and noticed for the first time a cute little pair of cat ears standing on top of the fuanus' head, one of which flicked in her direction pointedly. “Ah, they're adorable!”

Weiss sighed. “Don't say things like that. Faunus don't like strangers cooing over them like exotic pets, and you aren't likely to find many faunus with a bigger chip on their shoulder than the White Fang.”

“O-oh,” Ruby said. “I didn't mean anything bad by it…”

Weiss shrugged. “Blake's level headed for the White Fang, but you still shouldn't be rude.”

Ruby nodded. “This is that city survival thing, isn't it?”

“Yes,” Weiss said. “It's best to assume everyone you meet is touchy, and if you want to avoid headaches try not to offend them. Unless you're sure they're weak and have no allies, of course.”

“You don't seem very touchy,” Ruby said.

The woman, Blake, scoffed. “Please. Weiss has an ego larger than all of Vale, and a temper thornier than a hedge of brambles.”

“Like you're one to talk,” Weiss sneered. “Or did you forget how we met?”

Blake huffed but didn't rise to the bait, leaving Weiss stewing over her lack of reaction. Ruby smirked and bumped shoulders with her, making Weiss look over with a raised eyebrow. “So you get grumpy about people saying you get grumpy about people saying stuff, but you shrug off murder attempts?”

Weiss pursed her lips. “Those are completely different things. Insults are a complete lack of respect. Murder means they care enough to try to kill me.”

“Well… I kinda attacked you 'cause I opened the wrong door…”

Weiss narrowed her eyes at her. “Do you _want_ me to leave you running around Vale by yourself?”

Ruby pouted. “No.”

“Good, then stop being a pest,” Weiss said. “Anyway, we're here.”

Here turned out to be a tavern at the very edge of Menagerie. Ruby was relieved to see that it looked to cater to both faunus and human families, not just criminals and alcoholics. In fact, the inside was nice if cheaply constructed, and despite the late hour there were more people eating at the tables than drinking at the bar.

Blake removed her mask before entering, hiding it at the small of her back so that her black clothing covered it, before strolling in and taking a seat far from the only fireplace, a spot that was quite dim and well shadowed. Weiss sat across from her, and after a moment of hesitation Ruby sat beside Weiss.

“So who are you?” Blake asked, sizing Ruby up.

“Oh, I'm Ruby Rose!” she said with a grin. “You're Blake?”

“Blake Belladonna,” she said, nodding her head. “So… why were you here?”

“My sister is missing,” Ruby said. “I found a lead about somebody named Neo, and Weiss and I got her to tell us, well, not really _tell_ 'cause, uh-”

“I've met Neo,” Blake interrupted.

“Right,” Ruby said with a blush. “A-anyway, she said that my sister had something to do with the White Fang, so Weiss took us here.”

“Oh, she did, did she?” Blake said, eyeing Weiss skeptically. “And how exactly did she get involved in this mess in the first place?”

“Do you know anything about her sister or not?” Weiss asked, crossing her arms and refused to meet either of their gazes.

Before anything more could be said a brunette waitress with tall rabbit ears appeared, offering them all small cups and pouring a drink from a kettle for each of them. The faunus blushed when she looked at Weiss, offering a shy smile, which was returned with a sly one from the white haired woman. For some reason the familiar looks made Ruby's stomach twist, and she scooted a little closer to Weiss. “What's this?”

“Tea,” Blake said, her eyes dancing with amusement for some reason.

“Oh, I've never had that before!” Ruby said cheerfully, picking up her cup and take a big drink. “Ah! It's hot!”

“Of course it is, you dolt!” Weiss scolded. “Didn't you notice the steam?”

“Ow,” Ruby whined.

“Ugh, can you bring her some mead, Velvet?” Weiss said.

“Sure thing, Weiss,” Velvet said with a giggle, jogging off to get Ruby something cool to drink, which she did with a with a relieved sigh. Her mouth was still hurting, but at least it wasn't as bad, and the sweet drink made up for the bitter tea she'd drunk. “Do you three need anything else?”

“We're fine, Velvet, thank you,” Blake said.

Velvet gave them all a smile before leaving to check on other tables. Once she was gone Blake sipped her tea and looked at Ruby. “So… who is your sister?”

“Her name's Yang Xiao Long,” Ruby said. “She's pretty tall, with lots of blonde hair, and-”

“Wait, wait, wait, you're _that_ Ruby?” Blake said.

“You know my sister?” Ruby asked excitedly.

“You could say that,” Blake said with the faintest blush. “Why are you looking for her?”

“She's my sister,” Ruby said. “I had to go kill some Beowolves, and when I got back she'd been gone for a couple weeks. I came looking for her, and I've been asking around for days and days! I finally found out she'd gone to see Neo last night, so I'm getting close, but-”

“Wait, she went to see Neo yesterday?” Blake asked, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

“Uh… yeah, why?” Ruby asked.

“Damn it,” Blake snarled. “I thought… I told that idiot not to go looking for them, but she must've anyway!”

“Wait, looking for what?” Ruby asked.

Blake stood, her jaw set. “I was wondering why she wasn't around when I went looking for her today… that complete _idiot_.”

“What's going on?” Weiss asked, setting down her teacup and standing as well.

Blake gritted her teeth. “She was looking for someone involved with the Cult of the Black Wing. I told her it was too dangerous, but she must've kept looking anyway.”

“What's the Cult of the Black Wing?” Ruby asked, slurping down the rest of her mead before jogging after the two as they moved quickly towards the exit.

“An assassin cult,” Weiss said darkly. “They aren't like Neo. They're religious fanatics who think their 'god' wants them to kill. They only take requests as a way to keep themselves funded.”

 

* * *

 

Weiss found herself questioning why she was actually involved in this idiocy. Sure, she'd been bored and Ruby had been interesting, but there was a huge gap between that and a possibly suicidal attack against an assassin cult. She was just about to turn around and take her leave when Ruby walked up next to her and leaned against the wall by her side, fiddling with her folded scythe while she did.

“Thanks,” Ruby said quietly.

“For what?” Weiss asked.

“For helping me,” Ruby said. “You know, everyone in my village always talked about how bad city people are. How they're weak, and only care about money and themselves, and don't know the meaning of taking care of each other. And, well, when I first met you I thought that's how you were.”

“Thanks,” Weiss said dryly.

“I know I was wrong,” Ruby said. “I mean… the whole… place I found you at was gross, but you're strong and smart and actually really nice. And I know this is super duper dangerous, but you're helping me anyway… you're a good person.”

Weiss' expression darkened, old memories haunting her at those words. “Not that good.”

Ruby shook her head. “Maybe you've done bad stuff, but you're not a bad person.”

“People are what they do,” Weiss said, looking up at the stars. They were at the very edge of the city, past even the worst slums where people would knife their own mother for half a copper, to the abandoned, rotting buildings that had been damaged in the Great Grimm Incursion and never properly repaired. The area was abandoned by all but the desperate and the mad, and more than a few monsters, human or otherwise, stalked the decaying streets.

“And you're helping me,” Ruby said simply. She was silent for a bit, before speaking again more quietly. “Why do you do stuff like that?”

“Like what?” Weiss asked.

Ruby blushed. “You know… with the, uh, how I found you.”

“Well, I like women,” Weiss smirked, enjoying the darkening cheeks of her companion. After a moment she sighed, wondering why she was feeling so introspective. “Why are you trying so hard to save your sister?”

Ruby blinked. “Why wouldn't I? I love her. She means the world to me. When my mom died… my dad didn't take it well. My uncle helped out some, but it was mostly just the two of us for a long time. She always took care of me, and, well… I guess it's my turn to take care of her now.”

“My family… isn't like that,” Weiss said quietly. “I haven't seen my sister in years, and my brother has been sending assassins after me for a long time. My father…”

She jumped when she felt Ruby put a hand on her shoulder, and she suddenly realized she'd put a hand over the scar covering her eye. She dropped her hand and looked away, but found herself leaning slightly into her companion's touch. “Look, I lost my mother to alcohol a long time ago, and I refuse to be like her. When my father started making noises about marrying me off the same as my mother was I decided it was time to make my own way, but that's not always been easy. Maybe they only care about coin, but people like that there when I need someone, and they don't cause any trouble the next morning.”

Ruby hummed, and Weiss gritted her teeth, feeling a clawing in chest at how honest she'd just been. How vulnerable she'd made herself. What was she even doing there? Was it because of how openly Ruby had talked about herself that Weiss had been pulled into the same insanity?

Suddenly she stiffened up as Ruby moved from not simply touching her to actually _hugging_ her. “What are you doing?”

“Hugging you,” Ruby said. “You know, maybe getting close to people isn't easy, but it's way better than paying people to do _that_. I've never had many friends either, and my village and family is a long, long way away now. So how about we stick together?”

Weiss scoffed. “And when you find your sister? Aren't you going to go home with her?”

Ruby hummed thoughtfully. “Nope.”

“No?”

“Mmhmm,” Ruby murmured. “I liked home, but… there's so much to see here. I'd like to see more of Vale. And, well… see more of you.”

Weiss' heart was pounding faster. This was way, way too much. Sure, she'd been hoping to bed Ruby after she'd helped her out that night, but this wasn't just sex. This was… leaning against a wall in the most dangerous part of Vale while waiting for one of the White Fang to scout for an assassin cult, and it was probably the most intimate moment she'd shared with someone since her sister had run away to join Ironwood's Mercenary Company.

Before she could figure out what to do or say about everything Blake reappeared, raising an eyebrow as she removed her White Fang mask. Ruby blushed and ended the hug, although she stayed right next to Weiss, her soft, warm side pressing against her own. “I found them,” Blake said after a long, awkward moment.

Weiss cleared her throat. “Did you find anything useful?”

Blake nodded. “They're doing a ritual.”

Weiss pursed her lips. “And Yang?”

“She's the sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice!” Ruby yelped, straightening up and deploying her scythe blade.

“We don't have long,” Blake said as she pulled a short but heavy blade from her back, testing the edge with her thumb before sheathing it again.

“Then let's go!” Ruby said, following quickly after Blake. Weiss found herself following after them without even thinking about it, the realization that she'd committed herself to the attack not even hitting her until they were close enough to hear the chanting.

The cult's temple appeared to have once been a tavern, the outer stone walls still standing even if the roof was long gone. Two shadowy figures stood guard at both the front and back doors, but Blake easily lead them to the far side of the building, where they were sheltered from view of the guards and could easily climb the crumbling stonework. Blake shot up the wall like the cat her ears came from, and Ruby showed almost as much skill, and though it took more effort Weiss followed them, reaching the top and peering down at the ritual unfolding below.

There were about two dozen men and women wearing black robes trimmed with raven's feathers. They were all wearing pewter masks that crudely resembled beaks, with the exception of the obvious leader, who had one of sterling silver. All of the cultists had heavy daggers at their hips, and while most simply swayed and chanted, some played eerie, discordant pipes or pounded on drums as a counterpoint. The effect was deeply unsettling to listen to, and that was without seeing what stood at the center of the ceremony.

On a raised stone slab in front of the leader was a tall blonde woman with an impressive body and beautiful features. She was dressed in brown leather that revealed a lot of leg, and she was chained down with iron to keep her from escaping, although the bonds appeared to be put to the test as she struggled fiercely enough to cause powdered stone to fall from the chain's anchor points.

Ruby started to move again, but stopped when Weiss grabbed her shoulder. “Wait. If you charge in there he'll just stab her.”

The cult leader was indeed holding his dagger in hand, the blade raised above his head as he chanted louder than the rest in the strange language they were using. Weiss' lips pursed as she saw a faint glimmer of light from a chalk pentagram drawn around the base of the stone alter. Whatever they were doing, it was beginning to have some magical effect, and she doubted that allowing it to finish would be good for anyone.

Blake moved up so that she was squatting on the wall, keeping low enough that she wasn't likely to be noticed, but freeing up her hands to draw a thin throwing dagger. Ruby and Weiss followed her up onto the wall, Weiss glaring down at the floor annoyingly far below. The ritual area was obviously once a storage basement for the inn, the main floor having rotted out and collapsed long ago. It was almost twenty feet down, and Weiss took a moment to pick a path that wouldn't break her neck when it came time to move.

Blake pulled back her arm, and then glanced at the two of them. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Weiss said.

“Do it,” Ruby agreed.

 

* * *

 

The moment Blake threw her dagger at the leader Weiss hopped down to a section of a support beam that still stuck out of the wall, leaping from it into a forward dive. When she hit the ground she rolled across the floor and then up onto her feet, her sword impaling one of the cultists through the chest. Unlike before she was obviously not planning on taking any prisoners as she ripped out the thin blade and immediately engaged three other cultists at the same time.

Ruby took a more direct path into the battle. She leapt off of the wall, scythe raised above her head, and brought it down in front of her as she reached the ground feet first on top of one of the cultists. He shrieked as she felt his bones shatter, his body cushioning her landing enough to keep her on her feet. Her scythe, on the other hand, impaled another cultist standing near him, making her face contort with disgust as she struggled to free it.

She almost had to abandon the weapon before a thrown dagger struck a cultist charging at her in the throat, before Blake jumped down as well, her short bladed sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. Somehow the faunus made the twenty foot jump seem causal as she attacked another group of confused cultists.

Once she freed Crescent Rose Ruby easily crossed the room, her weapon cleaving through any of the cultists who tried to get in her way. Most of them decided to take their chances against the other two women, apparently thinking that their smaller weapons would make them easier targets, although she knew that wasn't case with Weiss, and she doubted that it was with Blake, either.

“What are you doing here?” Yang asked.

“Hey sis, how are you?” Ruby said as she lined up her scythe with the first of the chains. “I'm fine, thanks for asking. Just a little worried that my sister ran away from home without telling me and got kidnapped by cultists!”

Yang winced, but held still as Ruby chopped through the first of the chains, freeing one of her arms. “Sorry, sis… and thanks.”

Ruby beamed at her before cutting another chain. “It's okay! I made some friends and got here on time… but you'd better not do this again!”

“Yeah, getting kidnapped isn't high on my to do list, either,” Yang said dryly. “Hey, watch out!”

Ruby turned and saw one of the cultists charging at her. He didn't even try to defend himself, but just as she started to swing she heard Weiss scream. “Ruby, no!”

It was too late, however. She chopped his head off, blood spraying across the altar and the faintly glowing symbol around it that she'd missed in her concern for Yang. The lines began to glow brighter, and Ruby gulped before quickly cutting Yang the rest of the way free.

“You complete _dolt_!” Weiss shouted, storming over, having finished off the cultists near her. “You just finished the sacrifice for them!”

“Uh… oops?” Ruby said sheepishly.

“Hey, lay off my sister!” Yang said, standing up and glaring at Weiss. “Who the hell are you anyway?”

“Who am I!?” Weiss snapped. “I'm the one that kept that _dunce_ from getting herself killed and tracked you down!”

“I said, lay off my sister!” Yang snarled, stepping forward and clenching her fists.

The symbol was glowing brighter and brighter, and Ruby saw that the blood she'd spilled was soaking into the stone and disappearing. A moment later a thick black fluid began to run down the sides of the altar, and Ruby could feel a terrible presence in the air. “Uh… guys?”

“What?” they both snapped, not breaking their staring match.

“What's that?” Ruby asked.

“Oh no,” Blake murmured. “Run!”

Before they could move the black goo shifted, rising into the air as it slowly formed a crude shape similar to a great bird, except it steadily continued to grow bigger. As the four women stumbled back from it as the wings expanded until they spanned the entire width of the basement. Then the fluid began to drip downwards, falling off of the now vast, feathered abomination that no crouched above the altar.

Ruby stared wide eyed for a moment into the glowing red eyes within the bone faceplate of the enormous Grimm, before charging forward, trying to kill it before it could fully react to its surroundings. Unfortunately, she was a little too late, as it spotted her and let out a piercing cry, before flapping its wings hard enough to throw her off of her feet from the blast of wind. It then launched into the air, circling steadily into the sky.

“What is that thing!” Weiss shouted as she ran over and helped Ruby to her feet.

“It's a Nevermore,” Yang said. “Really, really big Grimm. How the hell'd that happen?”

“That ritual was intended to bring it here,” Weiss said, her voice taking on a lecturing tone. “When this dunce killed that cultist his death and blood finished the ritual, the same way sacrificing you would have.”

“Don't insult my sister,” Yang growled.

“I can say whatever I want about her,” Weiss said, narrowing her eyes menacingly.

“You stuck up-” Yang started, although she stopped when Blake put a hand on her shoulder.

“Why would they want to summon a Grimm?” Ruby interrupted.

“They worship Grimm,” Weiss said. “The ritual would've also let them control the… Nevermore for who knows what end.”

Before they could say anything else Blake's ears folded back and she ran for the exit. “Look out!”

Ruby looked up and saw the Nevermore diving towards them. They all began to run, and at the last moment the Nevermore flapped its wings so forcefully that it canceled all of the momentum of the dive, and at the same time the move launched dozens of enormous feathers towards them. Weiss, who hadn't been looking, was about to be impaled by one, but Ruby dove and tackled her to the ground.

Weiss stared wide eyed at the feather that almost killed her, before turning an unreadable gaze on Ruby. They stared into each others eyes for a long moment, and Ruby could feel her heart rate speeding up. Before either of them could say anything, however, Yang shouted at them. “What are you doing!? We've got to get to cover!”

Ruby helped Weiss up and the two of them ran side by side up the stairs, where the two guards, obviously having hesitated to join the slaughter below, had been knocked out by her sister's punches. Ruby ran slower than she could, not wanting to leave Weiss behind, but before long the city woman was breathing heavily, obviously not used to long distance running.

“It's coming back around!” Yang shouted.

Without saying a word the four found the best cover they could, Weiss and Ruby taking refuge inside of some kind of workshop who's stone walls were still mostly intact as another barrage of feathers hit the area. “We need to get back to the main city, it'll lose us when we do,” Weiss said.

“No way!” Ruby objected. “If we do that it'll kill innocent people! We have to stop it!”

Before Weiss could object Ruby ran back out into the street. She heard Weiss snarl some kind of curse before following after her, obviously displeased but not willing to abandon her, making Ruby smile. It fell when she stared up at the monster circling overhead.

Yang and Blake joined them a moment later, all four staring up at the Grimm. “How do we even hurt that thing?” Yang asked.

“We don't have any bows or ballista,” Weiss said. “I doubt we could throw anything hard enough to harm it, either.”

“If we can't bring it down… then we have to get it to come to us,” Ruby said.

“Think and run!” Weiss called as the Nevermore began to dive again.

The four ran, staying just one step ahead of being impaled while looking for something useful. Just as Ruby was starting to get desperate she spotted what she'd been looking for. “Over there!”

It was a heavy stone barbican surrounded by collapsed sections of the former outer wall of the city. Years ago attacking Grimm had broken the walls around the enormous, heavily reinforced gate, flooding into the now ruined section of Vale and killing anyone who wasn't able to flee before they had been destroyed. The main gate, however, was still intact, and Ruby lead the way into it.

Once they were within they all paused for breath, until Weiss glanced over at her. “Now what?”

“Uh… when it attacks us it'll have to come into the tunnel,” Ruby said. “Yang, Blake, you guys go hide near the entrance. When it comes in try to hit its wings so it can't fly away. Then you keep it distracted for a few seconds, Weiss, and I'll chop its head off when there's an opening.”

“Right,” Yang said, running over to the gate, with Blake hesitating for a moment longer before doing the same. The gates were slightly narrower than the area inside of the gatehouse, which meant that they could get into position and not be seen until it was too late.

After a several long moments Weiss groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead. “But why would it come in here?”

“Huh?” Ruby said. “Oh. Uh… I guess we'll have to lure it in.”

Weiss gritted her teeth for a moment and gave Ruby a long, searching look. She wasn't sure what the city woman was looking for, but she apparently found it as she grunted and looked down at her sword. “I can get it to come in here.”

“Really?” Ruby asked.

Weiss nodded and held up her weapon, which up close Ruby could see was covered with tiny, intricate runes. Weiss pressed two fingers against the base of the blade right above the hilt and closed her eyes. “My sword Myrtenaster is an ancient family heirloom. The main reason my brother is hunting me is to get it back.”

“Okay…” Ruby trailed off.

Weiss said something, but Ruby couldn't understand the words. It wasn't that they were in a foreign language, or that she couldn't hear them clearly. The words she spoke seemed to not want to be heard, scurrying in her ears and dancing across her brain like gossamer spiders, eventually escaping from her mind without leaving any trace behind besides an uncomfortable twinge up her spine and behind her eyes.

Weiss then dragged her fingers down the flat of the sword, and in their wake cold blue flames erupted, until finally the entire weapon was aglow with fire that shed neither light nor heat. Somehow under the non-glow Weiss looked pale and barely human, her glittering blue eyes exactly matching the weapon's fire as she turned to look at Ruby.

Ruby wasn't sure what to say or do. Magic was unnatural, something she had been taught to fear. She remembered a girl a few years older than herself who'd been driven from her village for making fire from nothing, and afterwards no one would even say her name or acknowledge that she'd ever existed. Part of her want to run screaming from the woman in front of her.

But this wasn't just anyone. This was Weiss, and for all that they had only met hours before, they had been thrown into danger over and over again, and she had come to trust the strange woman. Instead of freaking out she gave Weiss a smile and a nod, which she returned a moment later, and Ruby could see that the unfathomable expression in those eerie eyes had been replaced with one of relief at being accepted.

“Can you get it here?” Ruby asked.

“Can I?” Weiss said with a smirk.

Ruby scrunched her forehead in confusion. How was she supposed to know? “I don't know. Can-”

“Of course I can!” Weiss snapped, before looking away with a huff. “Just get ready, you dolt. I'm not ready to feed the crows.”

 

* * *

 

Weiss still couldn't believe she'd actually activated Myrtenaster. She almost never did so, only taking advantage of the incredibly sharp edge and seemingly indestructible nature of the magic weapon in her battles. Magic was dangerous, to the target, the wielder, and to any bystanders, and she could feel the weapon eating away at something within her as she kept it alight.

Yang and Blake stared at her wide eyed as she stalked out into the open, and that was another concern she had. Despite the many, many dangers of magic weapons they were incredibly tempting targets for thieves like Blake, and barbarians normally did their best to destroy magic wherever it was found. Still, Ruby's acceptance of her abilities, even if she believed they were solely derived from the magic sword, made her feel an acceptance she had never experienced before. It was liberating, and she couldn't help but smirk even as she stepped out to face a monster like she had never seen outside of her nightmares.

The Nevermore was still flying overhead, and Weiss closed her eyes for a moment to envision what she wanted. Once she had it firmly in mind she gritted her teeth and stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground. Blue flame poured from the blade and made a circle around her with an intricate, snowflake like pattern flickering within it. With another word of power her will took shape, and she raised her blade, revealing icy chains dangling from the tip of the weapon.

As the Grim began to dive again she pulled her arm back and made a sharp casting motion, the spectral chains flying true as they rushed up and impacted the Nevermore, where they then burrowed into its feathered breast. There was no blood, but instead a terrible cold that afflicted the spirit rather than the body as the chains began to retract, pulling the monster in.

The Grimm launched another wave of feathers at her, but she was already running inside, sprinting past the gate even as the chains grew shorter and shorter. She turned around just in time to see the Nevermore crash into the ground and then scramble into the barbican on its clawed legs, beaked head thrust forward to swallow her whole. Before it could reach her it shrieked in agony as Blake and Yang leapt at it.

Blake slashed away at the vulnerable wing joints with her curved blade, working under the iron hard feathers to split flesh and sinew, her pinpoint attacks open small but serious wounds. Yang was less subtle, instead jumping on the wing with a great war cry, grabbing it and wrenching hard, seeking to twist joints and break bones.

The Nevermore thrashed back and forth, and Weiss released the chains before darted in, slashing it across the eye with her flaming sword. It shrieked in agony for a moment before forcing itself more fully into the barbican, neck extending as it gave everything it had to rip her apart.

Then Ruby was there, red cloak flaring behind her as her scythe slammed into the exposed neck, removing the Grimm's head from its shoulders. She hit the ground and rolled before they all stumbled away as the dying beast thrashed about, cracking stone and threatening to collapse the entire structure before finally, with one last, great shudder it lay still and began to dissolve into greasy black smoke.

Weiss cut off the magic form her sword, the flames quickly fading before she sheathed the weapon. She took a long, deep breath, unable to believe that they'd managed it, when suddenly Ruby jumped on her in a wild hug. “We did it!”

“Hey, get off of me!” Weiss objected, but the hug only tightened, and after a moment she huffed and hugged the excitable barbarian girl back.

“Well, that was a thing,” Yang said with a grin, looking none the worse for wear for someone who had just attacked a Grimm bare handed.

“Yang, we did it!” Ruby shouted, finally letting Weiss go, disappointing her slightly, much to her surprise.

Before anyone could say anything else Blake appeared and smacked Yang on the back of the head. “Ow! What was the for?”

Blake flexed her hand, obviously a bit sore from hitting the blonde over her apparently hard head. “I told you not to go looking for the Cult, but what did you do?”

Yang sighed. “I went looking for the Cult.”

“And what happened?” Blake asked, crossing her arms.

“I got to play the beautiful damsel in distress while you rescued me?” Yang offered, waggling her eyebrows.

Blake gave her an unimpressed look. “If your sister and Weiss hadn't gone looking for you I wouldn't have even known anything was wrong.”

“Sorry,” Yang said.

“You should be,” Blake grumbled. Yang sent her a pathetic expression, and after a long stare down Blake sighed and stepped closer, giving her a brief kiss. Yang tried to deepen it, but Blake danced back and pointed at her before she could. “I'm still mad at you.”

“I guess I'll just have to make it up to you then,” Yang said suggestively, giving her a coy grin.

Blake huffed and turned towards the exit. “In your dreams.”

“Every night,” she agreed.

“Yang!” Ruby objected. “I don't need to see you flirt!”

“Sorry, sis,” Yang said, although she didn't really sound sorry. She then turned her attention to Weiss. “So, you helped my little sister out, huh?”

Weiss, who had been smirking at realizing why Blake had been so eager to help rescue some strange human, raised her chin defiantly. “I did.”

Ruby grinned and wrapped an arm around Weiss, making her stiffen up for a moment. “She's great! But… shouldn't you go find Blake before she gets away?”

Yang looked torn between interrogating Weiss, reuniting with her sister, and following her girlfriend. “But…”

“Go on,” Ruby said. “How about we meet up again tomorrow for lunch. Uh… I don't really know where…”

“Beacon,” Weiss said.

“Huh?” Yang said.

Weiss sighed. “It's a tavern down near the port. Blake should know where it is.”

“Right,” Yang said. She paused for a moment, before walking over to Ruby and giving her a big hug. “See you tomorrow, sis.”

“You too!” Ruby said cheerfully. Once her sister was gone she beamed over at Weiss. “Thanks. Really. I would've lost my sister if you hadn't helped me.”

Weiss looked away, suddenly uncomfortable at the unabashed gratefulness. The barbarian girl really wore her heart on her sleeve, and that kind of thing was going to get her killed if she stayed in Vale. “I'm sure you'll make it up to me.”

Ruby then leaned over and kissed her cheek, making her blink in surprise. Sure, she had planned on trying to seduce the barbarian girl into her bed that evening, but it was hard to think of her in quite the same way after everything that had happened. Still, she was certainly cute, and she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to sleep with someone with the kind of athleticism required to fight the way she did.

Weiss leaned over, about to go for a real kiss when she was stopped by a finger on her lips. “Wait.”

Weiss' eyes narrowed. “What?”

“I'm not some… some floozy you can just, you know, sleep with and forget about,” Ruby said, raising her chin proudly despite a bright blush.

Weiss hesitated. The thought of actually being with Ruby was as enticing as it was terrifying. Could she actually do that? Actually open up to someone? Or would she just end up pushing them away, leaving her all alone like she'd always been. Besides, Ruby was probably going to go back home soon, despite what she'd said earlier. Trying to actually have a relationship was terrible idea, but…

She didn't want to be alone anymore. Even if it was only for a little while.

“Okay,” Weiss said softly.

“So… so if you want to be with me then you can't be with anyone else, okay?” Ruby said.

Weiss' eyes narrowed. “I might not have ever had a real relationship before, but I'm not some philanderer.”

“Uh, what?”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “I wouldn't betray my partner, you dolt.”

“Sorry,” Ruby said sheepishly. “It's just… I met you in bed with two women at the same time. Kinda set a mood, you know?”

“Well, on that note, don't try to kill me,” Weiss mocked. “Since that's how we met.”

“Sorry, again,” Ruby said.

Weiss leaned forward and captured Ruby's lips, the sheepish expression too cute to resist. She wrapped her arms around the barbarian's back, pressing them together. She'd slept with more than few people in the years since running away from home, all in an attempt to fill a void left by a lifetime of repression, isolation, and crippling loneliness, and one wild evening fighting side by side with a barbarian girl had done more to assuage those feelings than all of the debauchery money could buy.

When Weiss started to let her hands drift to more interesting places Ruby pulled back again. “Wait…”

“What now?” Weiss whined.

Ruby leaned in and kissed her again before pulling back before Weiss could deepen it. “I already said I'm not just some, you know, some floozy. If we're gonna do _that_ then you're gonna have to romance me first.”

“Romance?” Weiss asked.

“Yup,” Ruby said firmly.

“I know that you said you wanted to stay but… since you found your sister…”

Ruby smiled. “I can go back home anytime I want, but… the city isn't really anything like I thought'd be. And maybe… maybe I can find something worth staying for. Maybe forever.”

Weiss smiled happily for a moment, her heart pounding at the thought of 'forever'. She actually… liked the sound of that. After processing everything her smile transformed into a smoldering look. “How about a meal, then. I'm feeling… peckish.”

Ruby gulped. “O-okay.”

Weiss smiled and took Ruby's hand, and together they began to walk back to the city proper. She knew things would be hard. They were very different people, and even friendship wasn't something that Weiss had any real experience with.

Despite that, she was happier than she could ever remember feeling.

Neither woman noticed a large crow with blood red eyes. It had been sitting on top of a building, watching them since before Weiss had pulled the Nevermore down, and with their departure it took wing and flew towards the tall, ornate Tower of the Wizard.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for White Rose Week, but I kinda… went completely overboard. Mostly because it's an idea that I've been kicking around as a possible new story for after I finish Supernatural Affairs. Writing for this event made the relationship develop much faster than I otherwise would've, although there are still plenty of issues to keep things complicated if I ever write more for this AU.
> 
> The title is a play on “Ill Met in Lankhmar” by Fritz Leiber, one of the best works in the genre of fantasy this story is in (Sword and Sorcery/City Fantasy).


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